Smartphones have changed the way the world gets online, by letting you put a tiny, touchscreen computer in your pocket or handbag. But sometimes it’s still nice to have a larger screen, a full-sized keyboard, and a mouse or touchpad.

The Superbook is a smartphone accessory that gives you all those things. It looks like a laptop, but all the processing power and software comes from your phone.

Plug your Android smartphone into the Superbook with a USB cable and you can interact with your Android apps in a notebook-like environment. There’s also an app that automatically detects when the laptop dock is connected, and adjusts the Android user interface so that it looks more like Windows or other desktop operating systems.

The developers already have working prototypes and are looking to raise money to begin producing Superbook devices: the goal is to begin shipping units to backers of the campaign in January, 2017.

If the Andromium name sounds familiar, that’s because this is the team behind Androimium OS, an app I looked at last year, which makes Android look like a desktop operating system with a taskbar, desktop, and start menu-like launcher when using your phone with an external display, keyboard and mouse.

Andromium OS also includes a file manager, a desktop-style web browser, and support for running apps in multi-window mode. Most Android apps should work without any modifications, but Andromium is also launching an SDK that developers can use to optimize their apps for the platform.

A free Andromium OS beta app is available from the Google Play Store, but the Superbook is the first device built specifically to work with the app, so instead of connecting a separate mouse, keyboard, and display you can plug in a single accessory with a single cable and start using your phone like a laptop.

The relatively low price tag is made possible by the fact that the Superbook doesn’t have a processor, memory, or storage. It’s basically just a keyboard, touchpad, display, and battery. All the heavy lifting is handled by your phone.

The Superbook features an 11.6 inch, 1366 x 768 pixel TN display, a multi-touch trackpad, a QWERTY keyboard with Android navigation keys, a battery that’s good for up to 8 hours of run time (and which can also charge your phone when it’s connected), and support for phones with micro USB OTG ports or USB Type-C connectors.

You’ll need a device with Android 5.0 or later, at least 1.5 GB of RAM, a dual-core processor, and at lest 25MB of free storage space to use the Superbook.

While the Superbook is designed to let you use your phone as a laptop, it can also be used with Android tablets… or with Windows tablets.

The developers recently figured out how to pair the laptop dock with a Window tablet so it can function as a second screen. The photo above shows dual display functionality with a Windows tablet and a Superbook prototype (the final hardware will look different).

While the team is hoping to raise $50,000 for the project, there are a series of stretch goals: the first few aren’t super-exciting: an extra USB port and an additional color option (black or silver). Update: That didn’t take long. The Superbook passed the $50,000 goal just a few minutes after the campaign launched.

But if Andromium raises $500,000 or more the SuperBook will come with a 10 hour battery instead of 8. And if the campaign hits $1 million, the device will be available with an optional 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS display for folks willing to pay extra.

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More like a Motorola Lapdock. I remember when that was the hottest selling item that had ever hit the mobile phone world… no, wait, Motorola ended up getting rid of them at firesale prices because nobody wanted or used one.

Maybe there’s more demand for something like this now than a few years ago?

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2 years ago

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serversuplex

I meant they took an E200HA, removed some ports and logos, and changed the keyboard layout a bit.

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2 years ago

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Sarig

I thought the Nexdock was a lot more interesting, as it was completely platform independent, just being a monitor with a HDMI input, and a bluetooth keyboard/trackpad, with a battery.

I like how there’s more and more of these things though, hopefully a major manufacturer will bite one day, and I’ll actually be able to get one.

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2 years ago

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Justin Charles Reback

Would be interesting to use a OnePlus 3 with this. This is the kind of functionality that I wished Android phones supported out of the box.

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2 years ago

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thebrendancarr

The $85 reward sold out in minutes – they’re already funded. At least I got in on the $99 level!

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2 years ago

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Sai Gautam

This won’t work with Nexus 6p.

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2 years ago

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Timothy Higgins

Why is that?

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2 years ago

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Sai Gautam

No video over USB.

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2 years ago

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AdamFrancisGarbacz

I’ve sworn of Kickstarter hardware projects, but this one is making my fingers twitch.

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2 years ago

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Seatux

“with a single cable and start using your pone like a laptop”

Where can I get this “pone”?

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2 years ago

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WillysJeepMan

I remember things like this way back… 2002-2003 timeframe that would extend a Windows Mobile phone’s screen and keyboard to a palmtop-like device.

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2 years ago

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saimin

The first paragraph of this article says the gadget has a touchscreen, but I do not see any mention of a touchscreen on the Kickstarter page. Trying to control a complex Android app with just the tiny touchpad doesn’t sound very interesting to me. Now that Android apps can run on Chromebooks with touchscreens, that is going to be a more satisfying experience for many people.

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2 years ago

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Brad Linder

Nope. The article says smartphones have touchscreens. The point of the Superbook is that it gives them keyboards, touchpads, and large screens so you can use them like laptops.

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2 years ago

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joe potosky

I was a purchaser of a motorola atrix with the laptop docking set up. Interesting experience but ultimately the processing speed was horrible. Processor was too slow to push video on the larger screen